This invention relates generally to toilet training devices for training children and/or other animals to use a toilet in a particular fashion and to place waste or excrement in an excrement container. More specifically, this invention relates to a toilet training device that automatically senses when excrement is received in an excrement container and rewards the user of the toilet in response thereto by triggering a reward mechanism such as a sight or sound signal or dispensing device.
In the past, various toilet training devices have been conceived and used for training children to properly use a toilet. This has been done by, for example, playing a jingle or song in response to the child properly placing waste or excrement within an excrement container. Various devices have been employed for determining when the excrement has been placed within the excrement container. Some devices of the past utilize a spring switch mechanism triggered by the weight of the waste received within the excrement container. However, such devices require a substantially accurate spring setting so that the switch may trigger accurately. Further, the spring must be rugged enough to withstand abuse. As can be appreciated, the spring switch setting can be quite difficult to properly set and, over time, the spring switch mechanism can become corroded and inaccurate. Thus, small amounts of waste received within the excrement container may not be sufficient to trigger the switch mechanism and the playing of a song or jingle or the like.
Other toilet training devices, such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,075,308 include an arm extending to the entrance area of the excrement container and the arm is connected to a switch mechanism. As can be appreciated, this type of toilet training device is undesirable because the arm, over time, becomes dirty and unsightly. The arm and switch mechanism connected thereto may also readily become corroded substantially rendering the device unusable. Furthermore, an arm of this character extends only over a portion of the entrance area and if the arm is missed by the waste entering the excrement container, the switch mechanism is not triggered and the jingle or song is never played even though the child properly placed the waste in the excrement container. As can be appreciated, this is undesirable in that the purpose of the toilet training device is not accomplished.
Further yet, the toilet training devices of the past are generally incapable of accurately determining whether urine or a stool has been placed in the excrement container so that a different reward, such as a different song or jingle, can be played in response to urine or in response to a stool being deposited in the excrement container.
Accordingly, there is a need for a toilet training device that is capable of detecting whether urine or a stool has been deposited in the excrement container so that a different reward can be provided in response thereto. Further, the device must be easy to clean and not have mechanisms in the way of the waste that is being deposited so that the problems of cleanliness and corroding mechanisms can be eliminated. The toilet training device must be capable of accurately detecting waste entering the entrance area leading to the excrement container and trigger regardless of the weight of the waste that is deposited so that the user can be rewarded even though a small amount of waste has been deposited. Further yet, the toilet training device must also be capable of detecting waste being deposited in the excrement container regardless of what portion of the entrance area it has been received. That is, the reward mechanism must trigger whenever waste or excrement passes through substantially any portion of the entrance area leading to the excrement container.